Mother Of Disabled Girl Says Jail Denied Abortion

OTHER NEWS TO NOTE - NORTHEAST

December 3, 1992

ALBANY, N.Y. — A woman who says she gave birth to a severely disabled girl because jailers refused to let her have an abortion is suing Schenectady County and the state for money to raise the child. Susan Demir-Schmitt of Corinth claims the county and the state Division of Parole violated her right to have an abortion. She said she was five months pregnant when she was jailed in September 1991 on a parole violation. A month later, she received an ultrasound exam that showed her fetus was deformed. She asked for an abortion, but was ignored by jail officials, her attorney said. Sarah Jane was born Dec. 19, 1991. She has brain damage and physical defects.